User Guide

The seat of the most
important Archbishop
in the English Church,
it is also a vital town on
the road leading south-
east from London, and
is
close to several ports.
Initial Strategy
Planning the risk-free capture of a
Royal Heir is one of the most important
parts of the game’s opening Turns. Your
Faction’s opening dispositions and
moves should be geared primarily
towards the capture of at least one
Royal Heir. Choosing the right one is a
question of balancing a number of vari-
ables-how close are members of your
faction to the Heir? How close are the
forces of opposing Factions? How well
guarded is the Heir? Is there a Noble in
play who can capture the Heir easily by
virtue of an Office they hold?
For your first few games, the best
strategy might seem bewilderingly
obscure. Until you get used to the
game, set yourself a simple goal, and
work for it. You’ll soon get used to the
advantages of certain combinations.
For example, Neville, Earl of Warwick,
can start the game close to Kenilworth,
Cardigan or York. He has 50 Troops
automatically. On his own, he can cap-
ture Clarence in Cardigan, unless Her-
bert can beat him there. With another
150 Troops assigned to him, he can cap-
ture Kenilworth and the Prince of
Wales. With 250 extra Troops, he can
capture York in the first Turn; or he
can enter the City freely if the Faction
controls the Archbishop. This flexibility
makes Neville a very powerful Noble.
Controlling Royal Heirs
Having captured a Royal Heir, a Fac-
tion can begin the process of eliminat-
ing their rivals and having that Heir
crowned King. Each faction may con-
trol more than one Royal Heir, but may
not control Heirs from both royal
houses (Lancaster and York) for more
than two consecutive Turns. After that,
one or the other Heir must be executed.
A Faction may execute any Royal
Heir it controls at any time. You are
asked if you wish to execute an Heir at
the point at which he or she is cap-
tured. Thereafter, click on the Heir’s
name in the Family Tree display and
you are asked if you wish to execute
him or her.
When you capture Royal Heirs, they
are assigned to one of the Nobles in the
Army. The royal captive now follows
16